This invention relates generally to arithmetic computation and more particularly to the computation of a reading speed in words per minute for a given passage. Reading speed is usually expressed as a rate, and frequently this rate is expressed as words per minute. To determine this rate, it is necessary to know the number of words in a given passage of textual material and the amount of time the reader takes to read this passage. Since these tests are usually of fairly brief duration an accurate measurement of time is usually made in seconds. It is then possible to calculate words per minute by dividing the number of words in the textual material by the reading time in seconds and multiplying this fraction by 60.
The method described above involving a formula is time-consuming and prone to inaccurate results because of faulty mathematics. Each reader must make an individual computation, and if a class of students is involved, the teacher must check each students computation. Alternate methods, such as the use of approximations or tables, are also inaccurate and/or unsatisfactory for the same reason.